Solicitation

Solicitation, in criminal law, the request, encouragement, or direction of one person by another to commit a serious criminal offense. It is frequently linked with the crime of incitement. An inciter is generally one who is present at the scene of the offense and who encourages the principal offender to commit an act that he is already inclined to commit on his own. A solicitor need not be present at the scene but is responsible for procuring and directing the act itself. Solicitation is a crime in itself regardless of whether the act solicited is eventually committed. Incitement is frequently punished only with regard to an act that is committed.

Solicitation is a step toward the commission of a crime. If the person solicited is not legally liable, as in the case of a child, the solicitor may be guilty of an attempt to solicit. If the solicited party accomplishes the contemplated act, the solicitor may be punished as an accessory. See alsoaccomplice.

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in law, a person who becomes equally guilty in the crime of another by knowingly and voluntarily aiding the other to commit the offense. An accomplice is either an accessory or an abettor. The accessory aids a criminal prior to the crime, whereas the abettor aids the offender during the crime...

...is a class of offenses known as inchoate, or preliminary, crimes because guilt attaches even though the criminal purpose of the parties may not have been achieved. Thus, the offense of incitement or solicitation consists of urging or requesting another to commit a crime. Certain specified types of solicitation may be criminal, such as solicitation of a bribe, solicitation for immoral purposes,...